Es ist soweit die letzten Vorträge über meine Fahrradreise von Basel nach Indien sind angesagt!

 

 

 

 

 

Im Juli 2006 startete ich in Richtung Osten mit dem Velo.

Route:  13`000 km durch 14 Länder  während elf Monaten. Von der Schweiz über den Balkan, die  Türkei, Iran, Pakistan bis nach Indien  
Meine Route führte mich von Basel  über den Balkan in die Türkei. Während drei Monaten durchradelte  ich die Türkei und erlebte eine wunderbare Gastfreundfreundschaft und Hilfsbereitschaft . Im tiefen Winter überquerte ich die Grenze nach Iran. Mit einem “Umweg”  entlang des Persischen Golfes wurde es wieder wärmer und auch die Landschaft traumhaft.  Mit zwei  Freunden durchquerte ich  die scheinbar endlose Wüste von Baluchistan. Nach Sandstürmen und vielen langen Kilometern erreichten wir Pakistan. Entlang der afghanischen - pakistanischen Grenze führte der Weg ins tiefgrüne Indus Tal. Nach spannenden zwei Monaten im kulturell sehr vielfältigen Pakistan lag die Grenze zu Indien  vor mir. Das farbenfrohe Indien verzauberte mit traumhaften Landschaften und den Menschen mit ihrer tiefgehenden Kultur.  Ein Vortrag mit Geschichten über Menschen, Landschaften, Erlebnissen und  vom Leben auf dem Fahrrad.
 

Die Vorträge finden in den Filialen von VeloPlus statt. Beginn der Vorstellung ist jeweils um 19:30 und dauert ca. bis 21.30 mit einer Pause.
 

27.März 2009  Basel                 Leimenstrasse 78

03.April 2009  Emmenbrücke     Oberhofstrasse 16

17.April 2009  Ostermundigen    Bernstrasse 65

24.April 2009  Wetzikon ZH         Rapperswilerstrasse 22

oder auch auf http://www.veloplus.ch/veloplus/laeden/laeden.asp

 

 

 

                             

                            

 

                            

 

 

 

 

 hey my friends the last news of my trip

I was happy to have my girlfriend in my arms after such a long time. I didn`t know that she could get even more beautiful than before :-)  We took a day rest in Dehli to plan our further travel and went for a visit at the redfort. We decided to take a train to get out of smogy Dehli and to get close to the nepali border again. The women at the desk at the new dehli railway station meant, that it would be no problem to take the bikes with us into the train. We arrived with fully packed bikes at the station the next  day. But the police didn`t want us to let us trough with the bikes. Finaly after a lot of discussions they let us trough because they tought that the conducter anyway wouldn`t let us into the train. So we carried the heavy bikes over steep stairs to the platform. The train was already moving when the conducter realized that we had two bikes with us   So it was too late to argue. We arrived in Barreilly in the late afternoon, tired and out of energy. We bove picked up some bad bugs somewhere and this was followed, like always by diarrhea. Luckely there was a private hospital in this town that could make some tests. Finaly, gave us the doctor some antibiotics. The hotel we stayed, was friendly and quiet. It was a good place to recover for some days. Whe started cycling as soon as we felt better again. It was hard to get back on the bikes, on the road, into the dust and noise again. But we where happy that we could continue our travel. We cycled on a quiet sideroad trough beautiful landscape passing picturesque villages. The people where endless curious. There was always several hundred people surrounding us and starring at us when ever whe stopped somewhere. It was impossible to find a quiet place for a rest. Once we hided in a forest and we already tought: “nobody will find us here!” but there where people again after a moment. We where tired in the evening, still not so fit from the last illness. So we asked arround in a bigger village for a guesthouse or something simillar. But nobody was able help us. To buy food and water can get realy difficult in the empty shop`s. We could continue cycling with some bananas, some rice and biscuits. After some km a motorbike stopped in front of us. The young nice men tould us that it would be too dangerous to camp in this area at night. because of teft and robbery. He invited us to stay in his village with his family. The whole village was on the move when we arrived, the childrens where running trough the streets and telling everybody the arrival of two strangers on  bicycles. First the police wanted us for a interview. To tell them what we are doing. We where the first strangers in the village ever. Then our friend that invited us had to get us trough the crowds to his home. His family took realy good care of us. They made special food for us without any spices for our stressed stomages and we where allowed to sleep in the only double bed in the house. Next day all the relatives and their relatives wantet to have us at their homes for tea. We followed some invitations but than we had start to block. It takes a lot of energy to go from house to house and to tell your story again and again. Finaly already at midday we were allowed to leave. The whole village followed us to the road  and was waving and waving until they couldn`t see us anymore. We reached the town Kicha in the evening. Priska didn`t feel well that evening she got diarrhea again. She had so many motions the next day that we had to go to the hospital. But there was only a public one. There was one doctor and one nurse for the whole hospital. People where making their food on the gangway, on the walls where splashes of old dry blood, everywhere trash and ants had their colonys a long the floors. They didnt even have a mattress for all the beds and you can dream of a working fan in the heat. I payed some people some money under the table to get them to do something. So I had to buy all the medications over the street in the pharmacy than running back to the hospital to bring it to the nurse. She wanted give Priska the infusion. But I was shoulting at here to change the gloves, they had still traces of blood from the last patient. Priska  was able to stay on here legs again after she got the  infusion and the antibiotics. We removed the needle of the infusion our self and left the hospital. There was no reason to stay a single second longer in this hospial than necessairy. We stayed in the only and dingy hotel in town for some days until she was fine again. We decided to leave our bicycles in the hotel and to recover in the cool himlaya mountains. After a long bus ride we reached the town Nainital. Its close by a beautiful mountain lake. It was not so crowed and the air cool and clean. We went for som beautiful walks far away from the crowds and starring people. It did us bove very well just to relax and to be. From there we took a bus further up into the mountains to get to the picturesque mounatin village Kausani. This village is situated on the top of a mountain range. So that you have a great view on a higher himalaya mountain range with the 7816 high mountain Nanda Devi. We enjoyed some quiet days in beautiful nature, in peace and quietness. It is a nice finish of a long trip for me. Afterwards we traveled back to Dehli and then by air back HOME to beautiful Switzerland.  

It was time to go home for me. I`m full of impression and my heart was tearing me to a special person ;-) . I lost a lot of substance with illness in the past two months and until today is something going on in my stomage. I can take seriously care about my health now. After two weeks back home they could find out what kind of bug it is and I hope that I get the right medications now. Imsh`allah!

 

First of all: without the people on my way, this trip would have never been possible. I want to say thank you to everybody! for all the help, kindness, generosity and energy, all the way from Switzerland to India. There was always somehow from somebody help and suport in difficult situations.

 

It is good to know that most of the people in this world are friendly, helpful and have the same dream, peace for everybody.

greets from Switzerland

Teddy/Steven

I plan to make a slide show about my trip in Basel and Luzern. Informations soon on my homepage.

  

 

          

The border crossing to India was smooth and the custom officers worked surprisingly efficient.  I take a photo at the welcome to India sign an push the bike through the gate on the road.  Wow! I`m in India! It didnt even take a second and I knew that I was stepping into a different world… “hey mister you wana cold drink?!! special indian price for you! only for you! best price for you”… “ change money? i have a special good rate for you!” ”you wana rikscha? only 200 rupees!” “taxi to amritsar? come here! best price!” I asked myself  “is this india?”I jumped on the bike and pedalt on, leaving the nusty guys behind me. It felt like a deep breath of freedom. Womens every where on motorbikes, cycles, in shops and even driving cars. They are dressed in colorful saris that flutter in the wind and let them look even more beautiful than they already are. I had to look at every women passing it does me well after seven month traveling in the mulsim world, where womens are rare on  the road ore covered with headscarfs. The young Indian men are dressed in trendy jeans and shirts. The houses look more decent and the roads are in better conditions. I cycle trough a long green avenue, passing green fields with corn and rice. I reach the town Amritsar in the evening and its about the same chaotic traffic like in a Pakistani city. It was like a shock for me to see so many tourist and restaurants serving all kind of western food. I didnt see so many backpackers since turkey! I was allowed to spend two nights at the pillgrims center in the holy golden temple. It is the holy tempel of the people siikh. A special mystic place with good energy. To stay and eat at the pillgrimms house is by dontion. It didnt keep long time there I was curious what`s out there in India? The first days where difficult. The traffic is absolutly mad and crazy here, the worst so far. I saw in the first five days, five accidents just in front of me. Once a girl, maybe just ten years old got hit by a truck just in front of me. The roads are tight and and crowded. The problem is that they dont have any shoulder. Horses, dunkees, buffaloes, cars, motorbikes, bicycle, dogs, people, tractors. trucks and buses are sharing the little room. Indians seem to have only one rule. The stronger has the primacy, doesnt mather if the other gets in danger of live. Even the rule to drive on the left hand side seems to be unimportent. Sometimes a truck takes over a bus and a car takes over the bus and this is happening at the same moment. It doesnt mather when there is traffic from the opposide dirrection. The stronger has the primacy… everybody seems to love the horn at his vehicle. The clatter goes all the time for everything, it seems to be like a reflex to push the bloody button. On the back side of the trucks is written in big lethers “PLEASE BLOW HORN!” but why? to drive people loopy with noise? The worst thing are the nutty heedless truck and bus drivers. The finger on the clatter and dashing in a dangerous speed trough the crowds. I see everyday upside down cars and trucks at the side of the road, reminders of ugly accidents. Anyway I do what I learnt in Turkey and Iran,  just to jump of the road when it gets dangerous. I decided to get on side roads as much as possible to avoid the traffic. I just cycled out of the city Sangrur an was having a rest in a tea house. All of a sudden somebody started to speak english with me. He is a profesor at the university and was curious what I was doing. He invited me to come for a visit in his village. He showed me his fields, the brick factory, the village tempel of the siikh and took me for a tour to his relatives at their homes, giving me a interresting view into the country side life. Finaly I stayed the night. Next day I cycled on, on tiny roads trough beautiful landscapes passing picturesque villages. The people wash their water buffaloes in the village lake, the womens wash their clothes at the rivers, nacked kids jump of bidges, the corn is moving like waves in the wind, the roads are like endless tree avenues…beautiful India! Sometimes I stop at a tea house to have a rest. They serv me sweet tea with buffalo milk. I takes seconds and I`m surrounded with curious people just strarring at me or asking me questions. I try to find a quiet spot to camp for the night but its a mission impossible. There is people everywhere and there is always somebody that discovers me. But they let you do what you want and are friendly. I tried to put up my tent near the village Padla. After seconds is the whole village on the move to see me. They didnt let me camp they take me at their home. I wasn`t allowed to leave the next day. They showed me the fields, the temples, I had to milk a water buffalo :-), I was chewing sugarcane, mothers put their bays in my arms just that I could cuddle them  and and and… I dont know in how many different homes I was sitting and drinking tea. Everybody wanted to have me at his home. The kids where climbing in the trees to get a view over the wall to see me. I was the first foreigner. Next day they didnt want to let me go. They said: “you have to stay at least five days!” I continued on the sideroad in direction Dehli. And again I ended up in a village The village went crazy, they brought me food and they took me again from house to house. I had to eat and drink in every house. It was simply too much people, to much impressions and too much things going on. I didnt feel well in the evening. I developed  high fever and diarrhea in the night. The family was so nice with me. They took so much care about me. I decided to go to a doctor after i recovered. Because it is already the third time that I had about the same symptoms. The doctor took a blood test but he couldnt find out anything. I cycled on and planed my travels that I would reach a bigger town in the evening. I go for a hotel, step into the room and shut the door. “huch I`m alone!” the people are wonderful but it takes energy. Now its only a few km to the nepali border left. But it was time to get to Dehli! Sue my girlfriend arrives from Switzerland tomorrow! We will stroll arround India for three weeks. Kashipur the town near by the nepali border is only 200km away from Dehli. I took a bus at noon so i taught that i would arrive about mid afternoon in dehli. But the roads where so bad and the traffic so much that it took eight hours to get to the eastern end of dehli. But I had to get to the other end of the city. So I had to cycle in the dark through the thick traffic trying to find my way. It wasnt a piece of cake but I arrived one hour later in the hostal. Now im here in Dehli that is bursting with tourists and guys trying to sell you something. “he mister you wana ricksha?” and so on.

 

 

 

 

 

Now its time to shave (hmm…maybe) getting my cloths washed and getting to a ordinary guy again …tomorrow i cant believe it, after nine month dreaming about here!

hug

 Teddy/Steven